nut production

This is a comprehensive course aimed at those hoping to enter the nut production industry or for keen amateurs of nut growing.

It is a detailed study on nut growing in 100 hours of study with the opportunity to specialise according to your interests.

Most nut crops have big advantages over other fruit production systems - they don't require as large an area as many tree fruit orchards and keep much longer if harvest or marketing is delayed. Whether grown as a main crop or supplementary crop, nuts are well worth learning about.

Nut is a general term used to describe oily, dry seeds (or the fruit) of certain plants. Nuts develop in the fruits of many different plants, but not all are edible. Some of these are grown commercially as edible food products while others have potential that has not yet been exploited, for development as a "gourmet" crop.

This course will reveal the world of nut growing, expanding your horizons, deepening your knowledge and laying a strong foundation in this fascinating subject.

As with all our courses, study papers are provided on a CD, in total involving approximately 100 hours of work. The course is divided into 9 lessons with an assignment set at the end of each. These are sent to the Academy for marking and are returned to you with comments and suggestions.

You will be working with Course Director Colin Elliott, an experienced professional horticulturist.

Course content:

There are 9 lessons in this course:

Introduction

What is a Nut

Identifying Plants Accurately

Classification of Nuts into their Plant Families

Juglanaceae,

Coylaceae,

Fagaceae,

Burseraceae,

Lecthidaceae

Sterculiaceae

Rosaceae

Pinaceae

Anacardiaceae, etc

Review of Botany of Nuts: flowers and fruit development

Resources

The Most Commonly Grown Varieties

Overview of Nut Culture

Comparing most common nuts

Terminology

Almond

American Hazlenut

Cashew

Peanut

Walnut

Macadamia

Culture of Nuts

Site Selection and Management

Soils

Soil Testing

Water Management

Nutrition and Feeding

Plant Health: pest and disease, protection from wind, salt, air, etc

Common problems with different types of nuts

Planting

Terminology

Weed Management

Pruning

Less Common Nuts

Pecan

Pistacio

Pine Nuts

Auraucaria

Chestnut

Filbert

Brazil Nut

Beech

Oak

Sunflower

Pili Nut

Cola Nut

Cocao

Hausa Groundnut

Acacia, and more

Propagation

Seed Propagation of Nuts

Cuttings

Layering

Grafting

Propagating Corylus

Propagating Pinus

Propagating aids and structures

Harvest and Post-harvest of Nuts.

Harvesting

Cleaning, Cracking and Shelling

Drying and Storage

Handling Almonds

Cashews

Chestnuts

Pine nuts

Walnuts

Hazlenuts

Pistacios

Marketing Nuts

Overview

Where to sell nuts

Marketing Processes

Market Research

Uses of Nuts: Food and other uses

Workplace Health, Safety and Risk Management

Duty of Care

Risk Assessment in a Horticultural Enterprise

Financial Risks

Keeping the Workplace Safe

Protective Clothing

Equipment Safety (Tools and Machinery)

Safety with Manual Handling and lifting

Special Assignment

PBL Project: Develop a plan for growing selected varieties of nuts in a specific location

To enrole on this course please use the Buy Now button below; to ask further questions please contact us.